A Journey To SQL Authority

I am delighted to welcome to the blog someone who is without a doubt one of the biggest names in our SQL community. A name that I am sure many, if not all of you will recognise, they’re one of the very first bloggers that I myself began to follow.

A SQL community champion, this gentleman is an internationally renowned speaker, trainer and a prolific blogger, regularly sharing their SQL knowledge with us through posts going way back to 2006! To have them here guest posting today for the What’s It Like To Be a DBA series, sharing their own personal and unique story with us, is a wonderful treat.

How Did Your Journey Begin?

My story has an interesting start. After I got my Master’s degree from the University of California, I moved to Los Angeles to be a computer network engineer and developer, working with the programming language ColdFusion. This was a very small company, 10 developers only, and the DBA here was a very smart man.

He was very nice and very cool, but he was also very strict. He wanted to enforce all the rules and have everything done in a specific way. He was, I thought, especially hard on me as a developer. I couldn’t say anything because I was a junior member of the team and so I decided that the only way I could “fight back” was to learn a lot about the database – to try to become his equal in education, qualifications, and experience. I wanted to prove him wrong in an intelligent manner. I didn’t want to go into this as a confrontation. However, as I progressed in my education, I learned he was right most of the time!

My hostility went away. At first I didn’t want to listen to him because of my ego, but I learned this was not the right way to do business or how to become a good developer. That’s how I learned about databases, and what drove me to get my MCDBA certification. I have managed many databases since then, and have continued my own educational journey, but this eight year old story is the true story of my beginnings as a DBA.

Why Did You Start SQLAuthority.com ?

The story of the beginning of my blog is related, though. I was a new developer and didn’t know a lot about databases. I have a short memory, and I was concerned about how to remember what I learned. I wanted to build a resume almost, of what I knew and learned.

We were using Microsoft Excel as a report repository, which was not as robust as applications now available online. Excel does not format code properly. I wanted to bookmark sites and to record everything that I learned. I created a portal to store all of this information and so my blog was born.

I tried to learn one new thing every day, and I recorded it on the portal. If you look at the beginning of this portal, all the things are very fundamental. But I have continued recording at least one thing every day, and now there are 2,200 (as of September 2012) articles – that’s a lot of learning. My intention was to teach myself, to help remember things I had learned. If the blog is now helping others, that is just a plus in my book.

What’s a Typical Day Like For You?

My career has evolved through many different roles. So my days can be very different. I am a Technology Evangelist for Pluralsight right now, so I spend almost all of my day helping people – customers, potential clients, my bosses, or people in general. I try to help everyone.

To compartmentalize my day: I wake up before 7 am every day, because I want to have a blog post up by 7 am sharp. I usually will come up with an idea the night before and jot it down, and then in the morning I will write it up and post it to my blog. Once this task is out of the way, I can really begin my morning routine. I will check my work e-mail to see what customers need help. Some can be helped through e-mails, but others will require a phone call. Some with more in-depth problems will need remote help, like through WebEx or GoToMeeting. This takes up most of my afternoons. I also spend time checking the comments on my blog and visiting database forums, or wherever SQL folks hang out to try to learn and help. This is how I spend my evenings. The most stressful part of my day, though, is preparing to be an educator.

I like going to meetings, and attend as many user group meetings as I can. I like to present and go on stage – my goal is to make complicated concepts more simple and attractive so that people will enjoy learning. However, this sort of things takes time to prep, so I usually do this from 4 pm to about 10 pm. This sort of creative work takes time and solitude, so you can sit and think about complicated subjects. I am pretty tired by the time I am done!

You might be thinking at this point, “Don’t you have a family?” And it is true, I do – I have 3 years old daughter Shaivi and very supportive wife Nupur.

My busy schedule makes it sound like I spend no time with them. And sometimes I feel that way, too. But the great part is that I can work from home, so I know my family is right on the other side of the door – in fact, I can hear them through the day, and my daughter will pop in every two or three hours. My daughter is my favorite distraction. So I never feel far from my family because I can see them and hear them whenever I want.

My days are usually 14 to 16 hours of work in front of a computer, and my weekends can be similar. But when you are tired and satisfied at the end of the day, but feel you earned your bread properly, that is the best feeling in the world. I get a great amount of satisfaction out of my work. I feel like I am helping my community, customers, and the company. I get to learn things for myself, and I still can spend time with my family.

What advice would you give to those considering a DBA/DB Developer Career?

I often hear this question. The best way to become a master of SQL is to have the proper education, of course. But the second key factor is that you have to have a desire to learn, and feel convicted to do things.

People will find me and will have my book and think that they will become masters, and I try to tell every one of them that you need to do all the exercises and read every page and become good students – not just in university, but in life. I am sure that 50% of the people who purchase my book will be energetic in the beginning but will slow down and never complete the process. They probably have seven or ten books from a variety of authors, read all the blogs, have links to all the videos, but the time and effort they dedicate to actually learning is lacking.

The best way to become a DBA is to just become one. I like to say there are no accidental DBAs – because we all became DBAs accidentally. Many never wanted to become DBAs but ended up in the position with no proper training – it was just a situation where the job had to be done. The field is so big that many people end up in positions this way, and we all have to learn on the job how to do it properly.

I am still learning things today. If you don’t have an interest in learning new things, being a DBA is not for you. The best DBAs have found a proper place where they can learn, and they know the three key elements: practice, practice, practice.

Keep learning my friends! That is the only solution.

What an inspirational story and jam packed full of great honest advice for those considering a career as a Data Professional. Thanks Pinal! You can find Pinal’s blog at SQLAuthority.com and follow him on Twitter.

If you would like to share your story you can find the details you need here, along with all the other great guest posts in the series.

About John Sansom

I’m a Microsoft Certified Master(MCM) of SQL Server. I’ve been working with database technology in a variety of flavors for over fifteen years. I absolutely love what I do and genuinely feel privileged to be a part of our tremendous technology community. Got a question about SQL Server or being a DBA? Ask me!

http://blog.sqlauthority.com/ Pinal Dave

Thank you for sharing the space with me so I can tell my story.

Thank you so much!

http://www.johnsansom.com John Sansom

You’re most welcome sir. Though it is I that should be sending you a hat tip. I’m genuinely humbled and honoured to be able to play host. Thank you!

Sejal

Hello Sir, Thanks for sharing your experience. I am big fan of you.

Sujeet Saste

Every junior developer must read this because this things happen with everyone and we have to take motivation from it, not frustration.

Your blog helped me everytime, hats off for your knowledge.

Sejal

Thank you John Sansom.. Very Energetic article.

Vikram Mahapatra

Thanks for sharing:)

Anindya Basu

Thanks for sharing your story. We felt honoured. May God bless you.

Arun Gairola

Thanks Pinal ……..this is very good article …

luqman

Well done sir…I appreciate your efforts:-)

Raga

Hi Pinal,
I used to try to contact you to know more about you. But this article fullfilled that.
Most inspiring..

Thanks for this.

Mazhar Khan

Thanks Pinal to inspire me. I appreciate your dedication and can feel that you are very honest with your work. Please keep inspire us…

” When you are tired and satisfied at the end of the day, but feel you earned your bread properly, that is the best feeling in the world.” — Great Lines Sir .

Arijit

I Second Lakshmi …

Nikheel Patil

Hi Pinal,
Your story is very interesting & inseparable.
i learn many thinks from it.

thanks

http://msbimadhanreddy.blogspot.in/ Madhan

Thanks for sharing your story and experience. I am really big fan of you.

dhivya

superb article sir..really useful

http://gravatar.com/girijesh13 Girijesh Pandey

Hi Pinal,

Nice to read it, quite inspirational and motivational story.

ABhishek G

Thanks PInal..you being truely a motivation for many DBAs…….

Marcelo Claure

Hi Pinal,

Nice story. I admire you and your work with the community.

Saurabh Savaliya

First of all thanks for “SQLAuthority.com”. It is very useful through out in my career. Is there any query about Database my first watch goes into that. people like me which is on first step of his career are motivated from you… learn from you… Thanks A lot Pinalsir!

Pradeep T

Very nice article, inspirational.

Sreekanth

Good one pinal…Thanks for sharing…

Qazi mohd saif hussain

Thanks Pinal, this is very good and motivated article

Rakesh

Hi Pinal,

Your Story really inspire me thanks a lot.

BangaruBabu

Thanks Pinal !
Your Journey is a Good Pioneer for all DBA’s .

Thanks A Million to John Sansom For Sharing Such a wonderful Pinals Professional Exp with us..

Your story was really inspirational.We have to learn so many things from you.

Thanks Johnson sir for such inspirational story.

Todd

Thanks Pinal and John for the great interview.

The two pieces that stuck out for me were these:

“My days are usually 14 to 16 hours of work in front of a computer, and my weekends can be similar.” The rest of the article was motivational – but the mere idea of trying to duplicate this kind of effort is completely deflating.

“At first I didn’t want to listen to him because of my ego…” It is always good to remember to make sure our heads do not get too big to listen to others.

“Pinal Dave”…. I knew this humble person for 6+ years now and he always amazed me with the skills he has… he always try to achieve next level with the same hard work and efficiency and I think this is one of the quality he has which made him successful.

@John, thanks for sharing this brilliant journey of Pinal with community

http://java67.blogspot.it JP

you are always an inspiration for many Pinal. Thanks for sharing your story with all of us.

Dan

Pinal Dave. Couldn’t do my job without his blog really. Legend.

Ramkoti

Thank you very much Pinal. You are helping to each and every sql developer in the world.

Dharmendra Keshari

Hi Dave,

The slogan ” there are no accidental DBAs – because we all became DBAs accidentally” which you have written in your lovely and amazing story….. It is 100% part of my life. I give 16 to 17 hrs only DBA part daily and I am leaning daily new thing and so happy about this….

The leaning desire is so high…just looking for guidance from a mentor like you!!!

Regards,
Dharmendra

RAMASANKAR

Thanks john for the post.

http://www.johnsansom.com John Sansom

Ramasankar, you’re welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

http://www.gethynellis.com Gethyn Ellis

Looks like guest posts are the way forward to drive up traffic John. 50 Comments on this one. That’s more than my blog has got all year :-)

Wow, he got me nailed. I’ve got all the books and videos and read all the blogs and Twitter feeds. And I don’t spend enough time studying SQL Server. “They probably have seven or ten books from a variety of authors, read all the blogs, have links to all the videos, but the time and effort they dedicate to actually learning is lacking.”

http://www.johnsansom.com John Sansom

Recognition, is the first step to making positive change. Sounds like you’re doing just fine to me Tom.

vinay kumar

Hi,
I am also a follower of pinal dave from last 3 years. And after read the story of pinal, i started my blog. In starting time, i was confused and don’t know that how to write in a good way. finally i started blogging without wasting of time. Still i am doing mistakes and learning from it. Its improving me day by day. Everyday i try to learn new thing and its give me a joy full smile.

Thank pinal.

Vinay Kumar

Sridaran

Thank you John for posting this. Your contribution to community is much appreciated.

http://www.johnsansom.com John Sansom

Thanks Sridaran. Delighted you enjoyed the post.

Bill Lantz

Thanks for the post. I am definitely an accidental DBA, but trying to learn more, as my focus at work isn’t completely on databases. Just looking to ways to increase my knowledge so I can feel comfortable telling people I’m a DBA.